Manufacture of shoes



n v. F. HARRINGTON M ANUFAGTURE OF SHOES June l2, 1945.

Filed Sept. 16,v 1943 Patented June 12, y19.45

. This; inventionrelates to improvements in. the manufacture o shoes and `is particularly :concerned .,Witlr thesecuring togetheuof `thelay'ers of shoeluppersbylmeanstof adhesive.:

vAI `hoe. upper ordinarily comprises.; an outer layerfusuallof..leather; and an..inner. layer or liningfwhich, in' the forepa'rtof.. thershoeat least, is'usuallymade ofabric.- 'To providefor effective reinforcement ofthe upper-.hy the lining .it jis' a Wellknown practice vto secure?. the lining tothe upperfbymeans' .of cement before: the --upperis appliedtofthe last.- However, in i-lasting ashoe inv 'which .the upperlay'ers (are .thuscemented together .the cement prevents the layers fromfslip,`

ping relativelytoone 'another and, accordingly, they areunable to respond` .independentlytto the lasting tension. 1 vAs.- aj result lone `ror theother of the J layers, will A.not .be I smoothly lconformed to the'last. Usually the lining willbemore orzless wrinkled, lthus. makingthe `shoe uncomfortable to wear. 'To overcomethis .diflicultylthe presentdnvention provides .fori the. securing together: oiVv the component layers'. of a shoe, upper` Aby means .of

y an adhesive afterthe. layers have beentconformed to the contour ofthe last. To `this end .theinvention resides in an improved method ofzshoemakin'g'fin accordancewith which,.as l1e'rein;i1lus.v trate'd;` there is appliedto-one1sidevof a shoe upper lining, beforethelining isattachedtoigthe upper, Va cement lWhich/is.v initially nonz-.stickygbut which has latent adhesive. properties capable: .oliy being developed '.only.- under sustainedefpressure: The 'cemented lining,is'.thenassembledrlzwitl'ra shoe upper, the parts being disposedssofthatfthe non-sticky coating ofV cement. onthelining faces gether by.` the usual top.stitching.A .-1''I'hereaiitergti-Iey adhesive properties of the cement;.thereby.. :a1.1sv

ing .thelining to becomeunrmlyrbonded '.-tofthe Upper so as-eieetively toureinforcelzthe.latter. Preferably', a-:solutionl .of cementwis employed whch,-upon..evaporation of thesolvent;r becomes a solid Ihaving vthe =properties, offfplastio; ow-, that is, it. .will ow Lslowly it epressureaisrapplled; tofitzi Such. plastic 110W.` takes zplaeef. the ,ftime that. thexfcementeislfbeing squeezedilbetween fthe.

" to .'UnltedShoe Machinery12urpoxfation;` Flem i ingtongllJi, a corporatioxuotibew Jerseys. vi

'.piiiicauts; september 164943,. seria; 50.1592464151 .1 fffrclaims. (chismes) ser. @eine f A ing. 'as thefresuirof degustare@ lasting/f tensionthe. cement., flowing .slowlyy into thev inters'tiees .oithejlining and .the vupper and causi1'1g.these llayers to adhere v to. one .another Some tensioningof the .upper andtthelimng'takes place,of course; inthepnlling'f over. operation'but iff-,there is; no substantial. lapse ofttime, between pulling-over lasting the. cementwill Anot...} aef come effective {insecure-,the lining to .theupper o until after the. shoe has .been .lasted '.and,'..acco`rd inglyllthe'. layers. of .the.up.per `4will. be. free 't slip .relatively .to one Janother .during the .lasting oper'-,

ationy as .,wellias .during the .pullingven opera; tion. Onthe .other hand; if considerable `time 4Ais permitted .to f elapse...af te r the. upper '..has been l pulled over and fbef'orel, the. shoe. is...1ast`ey;l,\.y those l portionsof..the upper layerslwhich arelpr'lessed befree from undesirable wrinkles-.orsurfacefir.

against: Ithe .last the tension` .exert'ed'-l in .the pullingfoier .topg'a'rativgm ,may becomey secured .t9- gether A. lay; rthe- '..cementtbeforel the lasting .L takes place. Howeven the pulling-over. oflthe upper` does not; ,result in, pressing. the upper y. layers against .thelasttoany substantialextent at the sides and instepportionsoi the shoe. and. consef quexitlyin tljiose portionsthe layers lof 'the upper will lieiree toJslip. relatively..toA one .another in the course ofl-.thesideiasung ofthe shoe, even though the toe'y portions of fthe. upper layers may,..have

Ibeenalready.'cemented'together. 4'l'.lius.both y .layers,offtheupper'at-thesidesand insteplportion. H

lasting. is; performed at .a considerably later time than thepulling-over;`r of -the. upper layers, .lso,

as;l illustrated, vthe cement l is applied: only gto v the vampportionof vthe upper lining since ordinarily no.` dimculties, rare'. experienced-.due to the' forma tion of.. `Wrinkles...inthe upper ,layers f rearwardly of theyamlnv l.. .y

, invention willnow ,beexplained withreference to, the acvclinnpany'ngv drawing, lin whichy '1 Fig. 1 is alperspecbive. view of an unattached vamp lining having .upon one sides a coating. 4of

*cement ofthe special vrtype:- hereinafter. referred to. o o

fa ybottoni'view` of a shoenpper l comprising thevamplining shown. lin i 1,-, .a

quartery lining anda full Vupper. comprising-.both vamp and...quarterportions;` t. o .l e Fig. 3; isfaperspective yiew'oiasshoef comprising. the .upper i shown 1 in Fig, showing Athe shoe as it appears after. the upper has .beenffassembled with anainsolefon. Y a last .and .after thezpulling-f over operationhas-=.beenicompleted.e 1 gu .4. is-a fragmentary t cross-sectional yiew. of

thef.forepareoiltheshoe as.-it..appears atythe. completioniof therside: lastingf'operation; and Fig..5 is,.a. fragmentary cross-sectional-viewor In ,.themractice or mw improvedvmethodiras hereinoillwstrated;y :I apply,v tolonevside oilran une attached upper layer, for example, to the layer which is to constitute the lining, a coating of cement cfr-,the type-capable ofldeveloping adhe-` sive properties only .under sustained i pressure. However, if desired, the cement may be applied to the layer which is to constitute the vamp or outer layer of the upper.

ment coating has been applied to one 'sideof an unattached fabric vamp lining l0, .the cement being indicated by stippling-at I2.` The cement As shown in Fig. 1, the ceis side lasted. This may be accomplished with the aid of a side lasting machine of the character disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,815,297, granted July 21, 1931, upon application l staples which, as illustrated at 32 in Fig. 4, curve coating I2 is applied before the vamp lining hasbeen attached to the quarter lining or to thei upper. at this time, the coating operation may beeasily and simply performed, as, for example, by feeding'jthelining through a cement-applying machinebf the type disclosed in UnitedStatesLetters Patent No. 2,318,600, granted `May 11, 1943, inthe name of Paul H. Dixon.' l'Although other types' of cement may be used I prefer to employ for this purpose a polybutene cement, Ifor example in the for'm'of al solution `of Vistanex polybutene (molecular weight 6000) in lSolvesso No. 1 inv the proportion of `grams Vistanexto 83 cc; of Solvesso'No.' '1. Vistanex polybutene is aproductof the Standard Oil Development Company andis put out by vAdvance Solvents & Chemical ,Corporation.' Solvesso No. l is a petrol solvent putout by the Standard Oil Company of NeveWJersey. After the solvent in the cement has been permttedto evaporate so'thatthe cement coating has become dry'the vamp lining iis secured to a quarter'ining I4 (Fig. I2) byrneans of stitching I6 and the rear portions of the quarter lining are united'as by a back seam `I8f The lining unit thus produced is then assembledwith an upper by means of top stitching, as indicated at 22, the upperfand the lining having their rear portions united by the usualback seam 2li.` The upper and lining assembly,in the vcondition in which it appears in Fig. 2, is then assembled with aninsole 26 (Eig. 3) on a last 28, and the upper laye'rs,'i.l e., the upperproper and the lining, are

pulled over in the ordinary 'way land are secured y in pulled-over positioniby the usual pulling-over tacks 30."l This-pulling-over operation results in tensioning theupper layers in such a Way as to conform' the toe portionsthereof tightly to the last Without, however, exerting any substantial tendency 'to conform to the last portions o f the uppe'layers which are rearwardly of thel toe, whi'chportions include the sides andrthezinstep portion of the vamp. During thisv tensioning of the upper layers, the upper and the lining are free to slip or creep relatively-to onean'other because ofthe-fact; that the cement between them is dry audition-sticky and thus no objectionable wrinkies are formed in either layer. `It is to be underf stood that slipping or creeping of one upper layer melatively to the other is enabled to take place during the operation of pulling-over because of the fact that the gripper jaws of the pullingover machine do not positively clamp the portions of the upper 4immediately engaged thereby. Moreover, more or less relative; creeping of the upper layers may take place also during the separatetensioningof the upper vand the lining which is ordinarily effected by hand VApincers just prior to theoperation of the grippers of the machine. After the pulling-overtacks 3D 'have been driven, however,1the toe portions of the `upper layers are-'positively heldundertension against the last and after the lapse-ofaV substantial period, perhaps a half hour or so,` the'pressure of the upper layersagainst the last resulting from The vamp lining being in a'ilat conditionr of; George Goddu, such a machine inserting through the substance of the insole without passing completely therethrough. In the side lasting operation the portions of the upper layers at the sides and instep portion of the vamp are tensioned in "a manner to conform them tightly to thelast. Ordinarily the upper layers are separateley tensioned by hand pincers just prior to the operation of the grippers of the side lasting machinel and during this hand tensioning operation', 'as well-asduring the operation of the machine itseli, theportions of the upper layersat the sides` and instep of the shoe are free to slip relatii'relyV to one another because the cement between them is in a non-sticky condition at that timey and because in the Vlasting machine, as well as in thepulling-over machine,l the bite of the grippers is'notpositive but will permit4 relative movement of the upper layers. The sides of the upper layers having been tensioned in the side lasting operationythe staples 32 are driven vo secure-the overlasted margin 34 of the layers rto the insolev and thus to maintain the side and instep portions of these layers under tension against the last; After theupper layers have been thus held under tension for a substantial period the sustained pressure of the upper against the liningresulting from the tension causes the cement between the layers, at the sides and instep portion of the shoe, to stick those portions of the layers together while both are conformed to' the lasti Thus no wrinkles will be formed in: either layer'of the upper at the sides and at the instep portions thereof. The side lasting operation may be performed immediately after lthe'pulling-over operation or a considerabler period may be permitted to elapse between these-operations. It is to be noted, how'- ever, that while the toe' portions .of the upper layers,which' Weretensioned by the pulling-over operation, may become adhesively secured together'by 1the'` plastic flow of the cement between those vportions before the side lasting takes place. nevertheless the cement between the upper layers atA thefsides and instep portion of the vamp will notpdevelop adhesiveproperties until after the shoe has been 'side lasted inasmuch as those portions of the upper layers yare-not held under any substantialamoun't of tension until the side lasting has been completed. inasmuch, therefore, as the cementbetween the upper layers at the sides andatheinstep portion of the shoe is in a nonstickyf condition, the layers will be able to slip or creep relatively to one another while they are being side lasted, even'though the toe portions ofthe vamp layers may already' have been lcemented together.

After the shoe has'been side lasted its toe and heel portions are lasted in any desired manner.

insole 26 and to the over-lasted portion 34 of the upper by through-and-through stitching 38. My invention, however, is not limited in its application to the manufacture of shoes of thetype villustrated in Fig. 5, inasmuch as it may be utilized in the making of shoes of any type except,

of course, those in which the upper consists of but a single layer. y

Having described my invention, what I claim l as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: i

1. That improvement in shoemaking which consists in providing a shoe upper comprising an outer layer and an inner layer and having between sad layers a iilm of cement attached directly to one of them which is initially non-sticky but has latent adhesive properties developable by pressure, assembling said upper with `an insole on a last, lasting thelayers while said iilm remains in a non-sticky condition,. and applying tension in the lasting operation to said layers to conform them to the last while they are free to move relatively to one another under the iniluence of the lasting tension, and to develop -consists in applying to one side of a shoe upper member a coating of cement of atype capable of developing adhesive properties only under sustained pressure, assembling said upper member in face-to-face relation with another upper member with the cement between said members and without subjecting the cement to pressure thereby providing a two layer` upper the layers of which are free to slip relatively to one another,

assembling said upper with an insole on a last,A

' with a solution of polybutene and allowing the solvent to evaporate, assembling said layer in face-to-face relation with another shoe upper layer with said coating between said layers, securing said layers together by top stitching thereby providing a two layer upper the layers of which are capable of slipping relatively to each other while the shoe is being lasted, assembling saidr upperwith an insole on av last, lasting theshoe thereby tensioning the upper land conformingit with 'an yinsole von a last, tensioning the upper and the lining over the last and inwardly over the insole and securing them while under tension to the insole, and maintaining the` upper and the lining under tension on the last for a substantial period thereby causing the cement to effect adhesionof the lining to the upper by plastic flow of the cement.

5. That improvement in shoemaking which consists in applying a solution of a cement possessing the property of plastic flow to one side of an unattached shoe lining and allowing Vthe solvent to evaporate, assembling the lining with an upper with the cemented side of the lining next to the upper and securing the, lining` and the upper together by means of top stitching, assembling the stitched upper and lining with an insole on a last, pulling over the upper and the lining and securing them to the insole at the toe of the shoe, side lasting and vtoe lasting the shoe and securing the upper and the lining while under lasting ytension to the insole,- and maintaining the upper and the lining under tension on the last for a substantial period thereby causing the cement to effect adhesion of the lining to the upper by plastic flow of the cement. i

6,. That improvement in shoemaking which consists in4 applying to one side of a shoe upper lining a solution of a cement having the property of plastic flow under sustained pressure, and allowing i the solvent to evaporate, assembling the cemented lining with an upper and securingA said parts together without subjecting the cement to sustained pressure thereby providing a two layer upper the layers of which are free to.

said toe portion, maintaining said toe portions under ytension on the last for a substantial period thereby causing themto become bonded together by plasticiiow of the cement, without effecting adhesion of said layers at the sides and instep of the shoe, and thereafter side lasting the shoe thereby tensioning the portions of 'said layers at the side and instep portions of the shoe over the last and maintaining them under tension on the last for a substantial period thereby causing them to become bonded together by plastic ilow of the cement.

to the last, and'maintaining the upper under tenl sion on the last for a substantial period thereby causing the cement to respond to the pressure of the outer layer against the inner layer` so as to bond the layers together.

4. That improvement in shoemaking which consists in applying a cement possessing the property of plastic flow to one side of a shoe upper lining, assembling said lining with an upper with the cemented side of the lining nextv to the upper, assembling the upper and the lining' 7 That improvement in shoemaking which consists in providing a two layer shoe upper having between the layers a iilm of cement which is initially non-sticky but is capable of developing l adhesive properties under` sustained pressure, as-

sembling said upper with an insole on a last, pulling over the upper and securing it to the insole,

lasting the shoe at the sides and at the toe bevlasted position upon the insole thereby holding the upper under tension against the last, and maintaining the upper under tension against the last for a substantial period thereby developing'.

the adhesive properties of the cement at ythe sides and at the toe of the shoe to effect adhesion of said layers'to one another while the shoe is on the last.

VALENTINE'F. HARRINGTON. 

